An incredible lineup of new attractions and experiences will debut this summer across all four Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond.

A flurry of fireflies awakens the iconic Tree of Life with colorful animation, and the songs of Disney’s new hit film “The Jungle Book” come to life on Discovery River, just two of the many new experiences as Disney’s Animal Kingdom introduces nighttime hours for the first time in the park’s 18-year history.

“Frozen,” the top animated film of all time, comes to life for the first time in an enchanting, music-filled attraction in the Norway pavilion at Epcot.

Princesses Tiana and Rapunzel join a rousing show on the grandest stage of all in front of Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom Park.

Disney Springs welcomes more top shopping destinations and celebrity chef restaurants in a glittering new setting.

Across its four theme parks, multiple resort hotels and diverse shopping and dining offerings, guests will find unforgettable experiences to share with family and friends, making every moment as magical as it can be.

Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger announced at D23 EXPO 2015 that Star Wars-themed lands will be coming to Disneyland park in Anaheim, Calif., and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Fla., creating Disney’s largest single-themed land expansions ever at 14-acres each, transporting guests to a never-before-seen planet, a remote trading port and one of the last stops before wild space where Star Wars characters and their stories come to life.

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Inside these authentic lands, guests will be able to step aboard The Millennium Falcon and actually pilot the fastest ship in the galaxy, steering the vessel through space, firing the laser cannons, in complete control of the experience. And with the arrival of the First Order to the planet, guests will find themselves in the middle of a tense battle between stormtroopers and Resistance fighters.

In order to begin building new Star Wars-themed lands at Disneyland, Disney has announced the temporary closing of several Disneyland Park attractions, as well as a few permanent closings. Details below can be found on theDisney Parks Blog.

Disney Parks is also preparing to take guests to a galaxy far, far away with new Star Wars-themed lands. With groundbreaking scheduled to take place in 2016 for our largest single-land expansions ever, building the new 14-acre lands will be major projects at both Disneyland park in Southern California and Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.

Work to make room for this new land at Disneyland park in California will require the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad to close temporarily. The following will suspend operations at the end of the operating day on January 10:

The Disneyland Railroad, including all stations

Attractions along the Rivers of America, including:

“Fantasmic!”

Mark Twain Riverboat and Sailing Ship Columbia

Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer Island

Davy Crockett Explorer Canoes

We look forward to all of these attractions reopening in the future.

Elsewhere in Frontierland, Big Thunder Ranch – including Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue, Big Thunder Ranch Petting Farm and Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree – will close permanently at the end of the operating day on January 10.

Like this:

The first thing William (1.5 years) said to me when I walked in the door this evening was, “I want Darth Vader! Bum bum bum bum bum bummm.” This meant that he wanted my iPhone to watch Disney Parks’ Darth Vader goes to Disneyland on YouTube for the hundredth time. He’s become quite obsessed with this 1:30 minute video and walks around the house singing “The Imperial March” and breathing like Darth Vader. It’s actually quite amusing. 😀

Darth Vader visits the Disneyland Resort

Then, after leaving the dinner table William ran to the living room and said, “I want to ride!” When I asked him what he wanted to ride he told me, “the Monorail.” 🙂

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This is a personal blog written by Disney Dad Bob Aycock. Bob is a fan of all things Disney and is not employed by The Walt Disney Company. For questions about this blog, please contact bob@magicaldaddy.com.